I am a Promise. I am a Possibility.

I directed a Children’s Choir many years ago and I’ll never forget the joy of teaching them songs that not only spoke of God’s love for them, but those that caused them, when they sang the words, to be speaking great affirmations over themselves. My own two children, at ages 10 and 8, were in that choir. Not only did we sing in church, but we were invited to sing for community events. I like to think we were THAT GOOD, but more than likely, we were a novelty – adorable kids singing their little hearts out about God and His love.

One of my favorites, and the crowd’s favorite, was the fun, cheery children’s song, “I Am a Promise”. With that catchy tune and lyrics, we just couldn’t go wrong – especially with the cuteness of children – waving at their moms and dads, swaying and twisting and using hand gestures as they sang. "I am a promise/I am a possibility/I am a promise with a capital P/I am a great big bundle of potentiality/And I am learning to hear God’s voice/And I am trying to make the right choices/I’m a promise to be/Anything He wants me to be……./I can go anywhere that He wants me to go/I can be anything that He wants me to be/I can climb the high mountains/I can cross the wide sea/I’m a great big promise, you see!”

As those sweet kids belted out those lyrics about how they can do anything, they were feeding their little souls and spirits with words that ignited a flame inside them. I just know it. Today those kids are in their 40s and 50s and I suspect that most of those kids have kids of their own, and I also suspect that they may be teaching that song to their kids -- at least I hope, and if it's not that song, other songs and words about how they have so much potential to accomplish anything they set their hearts to.

Yesterday, my post was about a Mama praying for her 6-year old’s future spouse. Is that a waste of time and effort – after all, she’s only six? Or is it the absolute, most ROCK-solid thing to be doing -- instilling faith into our kids and guaranteeing that our children's choices will be God's choices?

Throughout life, people will tell us AND our kids that we can’t do things. Many folks have grown so bitter and disappointed through the years and they have lost their hope and vision, so they want us to lose ours as well. They don’t feel like a bundle of potentiality, so they don’t want anyone else to feel like one either! This post today is to tell you “Don’t listen to naysayers. Listen to God. If He has called you to climb a mountain, cross a sea, teach a class, sing a song, make a speech, build a bridge, write a book, fly a plane, land a plane and even jump out of a plane -- then JUST DO IT. Make this your personal slogan: “I CAN DO all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13.

Are We Listening WELL to God?

Photo 242 of Photo Inspirations -- Are We Listening WELL to God?
Emmett from the Lego Movie  said, "I think I got it, but just in case, tell me the whole thing again.  I wasn't listening."

During her talk at the Sisters Event, Amy Groeschel said, “Have you ever read a text message and realized that it was sent four hours ago, and by then it was too late to respond?  God is sending us messages all the time, but we’re not listening well.  We’re distracted or preoccupied or just maybe, we don’t even want to listen.  You know how our children have selective hearing?  You can call them and call them, and they don’t respond, but if you say “Ice Cream”, they’ll come running.  Just like kids, we, too, have selective hearing.  We listen to what we love.  God is communicating with us all the time.  He wants us, like we want our kids, to LISTEN WELL!”

Ever been texting, and someone was trying to talk to you at the same time?  We say, "I'm listening....go ahead!"  But in reality, we're not listening WELL.

So how do we listen well?  We listen well by guarding our hearts.  It's so easy to be sidetracked from the things that matter most, especially when we're so busy.  We're running here and there, taking care of business and trying to figure out how to do this or that.  When, all the while, God is speaking to us, but our hearts are being controlled by stress and anxiety. We must guard our hearts so that when He speaks....we're tuned into His frequency and can hear Him loud and clear.

He also wants us to guard our minds.  Amy said, "Our kids know all the words to every Taylor Swift song, but do they know God's Word?"  The enemy wants to deceive us and the best way to know his lies are to know and be grounded in God's Word. It's like learning a foreign language.  We must immerse ourselves in it in order to learn it.  The same is true for knowing God's Word -- every key to victory and success is found there.  Why wouldn't we immerse ourselves in the Word?  When we do, we'll be listening WELL.

Isn't it time we pay attention to His nudges, His promptings and His voice?  He holds the answers to everything we need to live a victorious life, so why would we allow anything to come between our ears AND His voice?  Isn't it time for us to start LISTENING WELL?